BRISTOL — The Mount Abraham Union High School girls’ and boys’ cross-country runners each finished third among four teams on Tuesday in the Eagles’ only home meet of the season.
The Eagle girls were paced by senior Natalie May, who was sixth in 22:12, while junior Chris Carter took fourth to lead the Mount Abe boys.
Rice won the girls’ competition with 45 points, edging Milton (47), followed by the Eagles with 66 and Missisquoi with 82. Runners from Richford and Enosburg ran as independents, and Richford’s Steph Griffin won the girls’ race in 21:26.
Rice more easily won the boys’ competition, scoring 29 points, followed again by Milton (60), Mount Abe (74), and (MVU) 79. Rice’s Oliver Wood set the pace in 17:49.
The Mount Abe coaches said the meet ran smoothly, in part because of recent improvements made to the school’s cross-country trails. Coach Brent Crum called them “the best that I have ever seen them and probably the best that they have ever been.”
Masterson Excavating, in particular recent Mount Abe graduate Josh Masterson, donated equipment to widen and upgrade trails, and Chris Cram donated equipment operating time, Crum said. Other volunteers joined in on a recent Sunday afternoon to widen one stretch of trail to accommodate multiple runners, he said. Crum is still seeking more volunteers and equipment and may be reached at [email protected].
Tuesday’s top girls’ finisher overall and top seven Mount Abe finishers were:
1. Steph Griffin, Richford, 21:26.
6. Natalie May, Mt. Abe, 22:12.
13. Genevieve Chiola, Mt. Abe, 24:15.
14. Bakari Olivetti, Mt. Abe, 24:33.
16. Sarah Sodaro, Mt. Abe, 25:12.
17. Laura Sundstrom, Mt. Abe, 25:29.
21. Delaynah Leavitt, Mt. Abe, 25:43.
23. Hannah Bonar, Mt. Abe, 25:47.
Tuesday’s top five boys’ finisher overall and top seven Mount Abe finishers were:
1. Oliver Wood, Rice, 17:49.
4. Chris Carter, Mt. Abe, 18:43.
12. Eliot Brett, Mt. Abe, 20:13.
16. Connor Norland, Mt. Abe, 20:51.
23. Lyn Ackert-Smith, Mt. Abe, 21:57.
24. Robin Kuhns, Mt. Abe, 21:59.
25. Nick Turner, Mt. Abe. 22:00.
27. Jude Bunch, Mt. Abe, 22:02.
EAGLES AT RANDOLPH
On Saturday, the Eagle girls were fifth and the Eagle boys were seventh at the 3 Stallion Inn-Vitational 5-kilometer race hosted by Randolph.
The girls’ team scores were: 1. U-32, 30; 2. Montpelier, 63; 3. Milton and Randolph, 66; 5. Mount Abe, 137; 6. Northfield, 144.
The individual Eagle girls’ results were: 31. Sarah Sodaro, 25:53; 33. Delaynah Leavitt, 26:11; 37. Harmony Taggart, 26:54; 38. Kiley Pratt, 26:59; 46. Hannah Bonar, 27:34.
The boys’ team scores were: 1. Montpelier, 33; 2. U-32, 36; 3. Stowe, 73; 4. Milton, 100; 5. Lyndon and Northfield, 163; 7. Mount Abe, 180; 8. Randolph, 227.
The individual Eagle boys’ results were: 14. Chris Carter, 19:00; 48. Connor Norland, 21:45; 60. Lyn Ackert-Smith, 22:24; 62. Peter Foley, 22:41; 63. Andrew Raymond, 22:47; 68. Nick Turner, 23:08; 81. Sam Daniels, 24:22; 87. Jude Bunch, 25:05; 88. Will Aldrich, 25:19; 92. Josh Cousineau, 27:17; 94. Matthew Giles, 29:09.
VERGENNES AT BFA
Also on Saturday, the Vergennes team ran at the BFA-St. Albans Invitational. The boys, one of only two Division II teams competing, took 12th, while the lone VUHS girls’ runner, Sophia Parker, took 66th in 27:46.4.
The boys’ team scores were: 1. Champlain Valley, 60; 2. Mount Mansfield, 64; 3. Essex, 85; 4. St. Johnsbury, 101; 5. Burlington, 107; 6. Colchester, 120; 7. Rice, 183; 8. South Burlington, 198; 9. BFA-St. Albans, 260; 10. BFA-Fairfax, 280; 11. Missisquoi, 320; 12. VUHS, 352.
The VUHS boys’ results were: 66. Matteo Palmer, 21:31.4; 68. Wesley Miedema, 21:41.8; 72. Jesse Barnes, 22:09.6; 77. Silas Mullin, 22:42.9; 83. Quinn D’Andrea, 24:23.5; 85. Xavier Provencher, 33:39.5.